Void Linux[3] is an independent Linux distribution based on XBPS (the X Binary Package System), which was designed and implemented from scratch. Excluding binary kernel blobs, a base install is composed entirely of free software, but users can access an official non-free repository to install proprietary software.

Void is a notable exception to the majority of Linux distributions because it uses runit as its init scheme instead of the more common systemd used by other distributions including Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch Linux.[4] Void is the first distribution to incorporate LibreSSL[3] as the system cryptography library by default.[2]

Due to its rolling release nature, a system running Void is kept up-to-date with binary updates always carrying the newest release.[5] Source packages are maintained on GitHub and can be compiled using a supplied script.[6] The build process is not tied to the current system; builds targeting foreign architectures can be run, too.

Using flavours, users can download pre-configured install media providing typical desktop environments, such as Cinnamon, Enlightenment, LXDE, MATE, or Xfce. The live images contain an installer that offers a ncurses-based user interface. The default root shell is Dash.[5]

Void Linux was created in 2008 by Juan Romero Pardines, a former maintainer of NetBSD,[7] to have a test-bed for the xbps package manager. The ability to natively build packages from source using xbps-src is likely inspired by BSD.[8]

Many packages are compiled against musl, an alternative libc implementation, in addition to glibc.[9]

Jesse Smith of Distrowatch notes fast bootup times which he credited to runit, but also notes that documentation and bug-testing are lacking.[5] The official wiki is the main source of user documentation.